Justice: Sumlin wouldn't be where he is without Price

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Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, September 8, 2010

UH coach Kevin Sumlin said that he owes much of his success to UTEP coach Mike Price, his former boss and mentor.

UH coach Kevin Sumlin said that he owes much of his success to UTEP coach Mike Price, his former boss and mentor.

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Chronicle

Justice: Sumlin wouldn't be where he is without Price

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Kevin Sumlin was 24 years old and working as a group insurance underwriter in Indianapolis when the telephone rang that day in 1989.

"At that point in my life, I was bored," Sumlin said.

He had a degree in sociology and criminal justice from Purdue, and even though he knew football better than he knew almost anything else on earth, Sumlin couldn't convince himself to make it his life's work.

"My dad was a high school coach, and I just didn't know if I wanted to work all those hours," he said. "I just wasn't sure."

About all he was sure of was that he wanted to find something else to do. And the more he thought about it, the more he was drawn to the sport that had defined his life.

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Sumlin telephoned one of his Purdue coaches, Ray Sherman, and asked for help getting a graduate assistant's job. And one day he picked up the phone and listened as a man named Mike Price offered him a job at a place called Weber State. Price told him there'd be little or no money and that the hours would be long.

"Sounds perfect," Sumlin said.

A few days later, Price phoned again.

"Have you quit your insurance job?" he asked.

"Yes," Sumlin said.

"Well," Price said, "I've got bad news and good news. I'm no longer coaching at Weber State. How would you like to come to Washington State with me?"

Thus began a relationship that has lasted 22 years . These old friends will see each other again Friday when Sumlin's University of Houston team plays Price's UTEP team in an ESPN game at Robertson Stadium.

"He took a chance on me," Sumlin said. "I learned everything from him. He's an unbelievable communicator. He has a great touch with players, can handle all types of situations."

Sumlin began as a graduate assistant on defense but one day was summoned to Price's office and told he was switching to offense.

"At that time, Washington State was the basis of one-back football," Sumlin said. "Very few teams were doing it. I learned that offense and all the principles that go along with it. "

At Washington State, Sumlin got his first taste of being a head coach when Price put him in charge of the junior varsity team.

"The pay for this job is nothing," Price told him. "The budget is nothing. But you need to win every game."

Price reminded Sumlin he'd be in charge of the care and feeding of a freshman named Drew Bledsoe, possibly the most heralded recruit in Washington State history. Price wanted Bledsoe to get a taste of JV football before taking over the varsity.

"If this works out, you'll always have a job in college football," Price told him. "And if Drew Bledsoe gets hurt, you'll never work again."

Sumlin spent two years on a Washington State staff that included Joe Tiller and Mike Zimmer, moved with Tiller to Wyoming and was off on his own career path. He's 19-9 in three seasons at UH .

Two years ago, the Coogs rallied from 19 down to beat UTEP 42-37 at Robertson. Last year, UTEP upset then-12th-ranked UH 58-41 in El Paso.

Sumlin considers himself lucky that when he decided to give coaching a try, it was Mike Price who opened a door for him. In two seasons under Price, Sumlin learned much of the foundation for some of the things UH does. And he learned all kinds of lessons about organizing a staff, dealing with players and assistants, and coping with good times and bad.

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"We talk all the time," Sumlin said. "It was from him that I learned how to run an offense."